PTO Today

Brenda -

99% sure.

Tim

well, this is strange. One of the schools in our district is a PTA and they called Varsity Gold today, not knowing about all of the court stuff and requested information. They were given the name of the local rep from the main office. They left a message and talked with me tonight and I let them know of the problems. Why would they not let people know about the current issues???? I do not want to start rumors but i let the school know that they may not be in business.

According to official court documents filed yesterday - the bankruptcy was converted to a Chapter 7. Never wanting to be upfront about anything (based on my personal experience with the company) they continue to give people only the information that they ask for. I too called in yesterday to test them to see if I could get information about a fundraiser and the name of my local rep...which they did give me. Then i called back and said I was calling from a group and that I had heard the rumors and that I wanted some answers. Only when directly asked about the Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 did Linnie finally confirm that they were most likely converting to Chapter 7. As usual, they are very careful to answer questions without giving all the information - which has ALWAYS been the case with this company. I don't know why anyone would still be interested in working with them. They have lied to everyone, their creditors, their reps, their schools and it just never stops. Unfortunately it will ultimately be the kids who are hurt the worse when people hanging on to their faith in a failing company give them benefit of the doubt and continue to "wait to hear from their rep" who will end up with no product, no fundraiser and without the money they need to take care of their programs.

As an ex-Varsity Gold Employee, yes, they locked the company down tight today. However, our reps are all great people and they are the ones that the company was built and thrived upon. Contact your rep as he/she will find alternatives to take care of your school. Most reps already have backup plans to meet obligations. Please keep in mind that these reps are independent contractors and good people. I am betting almost all will continue on in the fundraising business and their success depends entirely on providing good service and building relationships.

Remember this. The office staff did what they were told, and we were not told very much. Truth is, we were pawns in this game, and we lost with everyone else.

We all hope that the discount product fundraising business continues to grow and thrive in the future. On the whole, the reps are good people who want to help schools make money. That's what the office people wanted as well, but now it's up to the guys and gals in the field to carry the torch. RIP VG.

The Chapter 7 is confirmed:

www.sierracms.com/DocumentStorage/44_Pub...1fa-46f094cd95c2.pdf

Tim Sullivan

(Closing Thread)